Back in the Basque

On his horse ranch in California, David Imaz whiles away the time until his vital heart operation by looking back at his upbringing in the Basque country of the 1960s and 1970s. The bombing of Guernica and the Spanish Civil War reverberate through his memories as he tries to uncover whether the despotic father he detests has blood on his hands. The Accordionist's Son is a graceful, thought-provoking novel, David's daintily observed youth mined with the politics of the unsettled region. However the breadth of Bernardo Atxaga's intentions means many threads are unresolved; and because, rather like David Copperfield, this David goes through life more buffeted by the actions of others than propelling events himself, there is often the sense that many of the novel's critical scenes are taking place out of the reader's sight.